War in Ukraine: Russia should not “boycott” the Paris Olympics, its sports minister says

There should be no boycott of Russia at the Olympic Games this summer. This Wednesday, Russian Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin assured that his country should not “boycott” the Paris Games, despite restrictions imposed on the participation of its athletes in response to the offensive in Ukraine.

“We should not turn away, close ourselves, boycott this movement,” the minister said during the meeting, referring to next year’s Summer Olympics, the state agency TASS reported. We must preserve the possibility of communication and participation in competitions as much as possible. »

In early December, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) allowed Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in the Paris Games (July 26–August 11) on the condition that they compete under a neutral flag, excluding team competitions, and do not actively support the Russian offensive in Ukraine and did not overcome the qualification barrier.

Neutral banner worn by Russian and Belarusian athletes

Russia, which has repeatedly denounced these criteria, which it considers “humiliating” and Russophobic, has officially discouraged or discouraged its athletes from going to Paris. Minister Oleg Matytsin said that he is looking forward to the next IOC meetings on March 18 and 19. “We’ll see what the final decision of the International Olympic Committee will be (…), but for now the position is that there will be no new recommendations and rules,” he said.

In December, President Vladimir Putin calculated that the IOC risked “burying the Olympic movement” by imposing a neutral banner on Russian and Belarusian athletes.

Even before the attack on Ukraine, Russia faced restrictions on its participation in the Olympic Games due to a series of state-run doping scandals that discredited a large number of Russian athletes and officials. Despite irrefutable evidence, the Kremlin denies the existence of any organized doping system and here also calls the sanctions anti-Russian punitive measures.